(click for DA link)

Too large eyes - check
Too large heads - check
More curvy curves - check

Made for a DA contest with the theme "Caricature". I took the chance to make a manga/comic/exaggerated version of two of my characters. Also worked with cross-hatching, which I never do otherwise. I'm not good at the manga style conventions so this is some sort of comic-y style of my own. 'Twas fun!

A caricature is less interesting if you are not familiar with the "originals", so here are some previous images:

The Unknown girl:
http://griatch-art.deviantart.com/art/Skew-world-155785124
http://griatch-art.deviantart.com/art/Not-looking-at-the-water-319557619
The Jester:
http://griatch-art.deviantart.com/art/Jester-IN-YOUR-FACE-206266081
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Griatch

Very nice!!

griatch: excellent! i think the cross hatching works very well, i'm hopeless with that technique myself. i don't know how far you wanted to go with the caricature, it seems like you were more out to "mangafy" the characters, but if you want it to be easily recognized as caricature i think it should be more exaggerated. caricatures are not supposed to be this pretty . it must be hard to make caricatures of characters you've drawn/painted so often and probably come to like a lot, though, so maybe slight mangafying is just what you want to do and in that case it looks just right.
another point: i think the jester takes over a little on the unknown girl's cost. i think poor unknown should be more of everything she is to balance jester.
it sounds like i'm just complaining, really it is a good picture and masterly done!

Aw. Not too manga-like, but I won't complain... there is definitely a "European cartoon" ring to it.

I like it very much and I wouldn't change a thing. Their bodies are fine and look like they are supposed to in that kind of art. I love the eyes, they tell the whole story. You can tell that the girl on the left is being comforted by her expression.

Thanks for the comments everybody!

@AnMal
Some good points. This is not as extreme as the common modern form of caricature - the extremely large heads and tiny bodies - I should maybe try that too at some point. As mentioned, this ended up some sort of halfway manga-ification of the characters.

This is an interesting suggestion. And challenging, considering her subdued persona. Could you elaborate on in which way you feel the unknown girl should be "more of everything?".

@ofnuts
No, not very mana-esque in the end, that is true.

@molly
It's good that one can read a story here. I don't really read her expression as very comforted myself, but it's all in the eye of the beholder!
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Griatch
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Griatch

ok, what about being comforted but still a bit leery about trusting anyone

Nice caricatures

griatch: hmm... i've just had a small migraine attack, so i'm not sure i can get my thoughts togetether and write something that makes sense, but i'll try. in other pictures i've seen of her she really stands out and you get curious and want to know more about her, but in those pictures she doesn't have to compete with the jester, who has an open expression and is sort of easy for the viewer to take in. i don't know what you want the unknown girl to be channeling in this picture ( i read her as tense, on her guard and a bit melancholy), but whatever it is, cant you exaggerate it a bit? dang, it's too hard to think right now, but never mind, it's a great picture anyway and no one else seemed to think it was unbalanced!

Not sure if is unbalanced, for sure they both are looking and sort of interacting with somebody out of the watcher field of view,.. and yes i believe will look more balanced if he was included

A very late reply, but I never thanked for the feedback on this.


It is a fair point that the Unknown girl tends to have the "scene" to herself; I didn't consider the fact that the Jester actually steals her thunder here, so to speak. The Unknown girl is unusually expressive here but just what she thinks is as usual not overly clear; I think your interpretation of her being on guard and a bit melancholy is probably as much information as she'd be willing to let on.
I will probably not go back to change this, but you make a good point that for a "caricature" image the expressional impact should likely have been cranked up even further for maximal effect.


This is another form of "unbalanced" than AnMal is referring to; it's an intesting point I've not considered. To be honest I don't necessarily consider them to be interacting with a person off-image though - I was more vaguely having the feeling that the Jester is saying something cheerful while pulling the Unknown girl into her enthusiasm. I imagine the Jester is looking at nothing in particular whereas the Unknown girl is looking at the Jester. But I see what you mean; if they are indeed interacting with someone then it would have been better to include that person as well.
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Griatch